


Forever

by KyeAbove, Ohaymikoto



Series: The Reinforcement Of Agony AU [3]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Child Abuse, Childhood Friends, Friendship, Gen, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 12:02:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17365571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyeAbove/pseuds/KyeAbove, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohaymikoto/pseuds/Ohaymikoto
Summary: September 19th, 1897. Cade Vale, New York. Agony:ConsumingThey'll make it out of this life someday.





	Forever

**Author's Note:**

> What roles these three grow up to be in and their influence in other posted stories are possible to figure out, seeing as they are rather important.

~September 9th, 1897~

* * *

It was late at night and the moon peeped through the curtains of Stewart's room. The boy himself was laying awake in his bed, despite wishing for sleep to take him, but that seemed impossible after all the hours of hoping. He hissed silently every time his scarred hands would brush across anything, and when he felt dull pain ache from his left cheek, heavily bruised. The pain refused to let him escape to sleep.   
  
Eventually, he finally gave up his futile attempts, and just stared up into the ceiling of his bedroom. Maybe if he waited long enough sleep would come to claim him, if he grew too exhausted to stay awake. But when would that happen? Stewart closed his eyes, and just listened to the stillness of the night. Then, suddenly that stillness was disrupted by the familiar sound of small pebbles hitting his window. This caused him to smile, despite the bruise making it hurt to do so.  
  
Carefully crawling across his bed to reach his window he pulled the curtains away and silently opened one of his windows. His grey-blue eyes scanned for a bit until he spotted the familiar forms of his two best and only friends standing, now huddled by a tree further away in the backyard facing his window.  
  
The ones who had been throwing the pebbles, a 9 year old boy like himself, gestured for him to come down to them, while the other, a 7 year old girl, just waved at him. Stewart waved back happily, but then ceased the movement to listen with creeping fear if his parents had been awoken by the noises. To his relief, since his father wasn't storming into his bedroom angry at this very moment, they must have slept on unaware. Stewart quietly left his bed and tiptoed over to his closet, where he fished out a makeshift rope he'd made specifically for these nightly, and sometimes daily escapades. Then he also grabbed his coat.  
  
Despite how his hands burned, he tightly tied the rope to his bedpost then with practiced precision climbed out from his bedroom window, then scaling the house walls, until he reached the ground.  
  
Once he was firmly on solid ground he hurried over to his friends,  with so much happiness easing into his body and mind.  
  
"Come on!" Bo urged in a whispered tone once Stewart reached them, and the three friends made their way into the woods together, running close together. They didn't walk far until they stopped.  
  
"Let's see today's damage." Lilly spoke gently, while pulling out a random assortment of bandages and different salves from a pouch she had brought with her. Stewart offered up his marred hands and bruising cheek with a sad frown.  
  
"What was it this time?" Bo asked. Bo cringed at the damage dealt to his friend's hands and face. This was a practiced action. They'd done far too many times for them to count, and yet it always saddened the children every time. Lilly gently began to treat as much as she could, while also cringing. While her family was far less well off than Stewart's, Bo even poor than her, his friends had kind parents who never hurt them for any random reason.   
  
"I made a few spelling mistakes on a paper I had to write. My tutor used that horse crop of his to whip my hands for every mistake he spotted and I had to count. 7 mistakes and 7 whippings for each hand. Afterwards when my father was shown the result he beat me harshly on the face for it not being perfect." Stewart recounted the day's earlier hours and their events with a pain filled expression.  
  
Bo growled angrily at this and Lilly sniffled a little.

"My granny told me that perfection is not real and that being im...imperfect means you have more space to learn and grow into the best you." Bo's granny was a wise and strict but caring old lady, who often let the children play in her yard. Bo wholeheartedly believed his granny's wisdom.  
  
"Thank you, Bo." Stewart felt a little bit more cheered up from those words of wisdom from his friend. Bo smiled back, but his was more a sad one. Bo hated seeing his friend  hurt like this every single time they slipped away to play. He always feared that one day, Stewart would not walk away from another beating by his father.

Lilly finished up her work, and grinned.   
  
"There, this should feel better." Lilly proudly showed off her work. The boys were always impressed by her skills. 

Now that Stewart was fixed, up they could hang out as they wanted to.   
  
"We actually came to show you something, come on, it's a little further in the forest." Bo pointed to a small path leading further into the woods. The three friends held hands as they ventured on this path ,until they came to their destination which turned out to be a big and thick oak tree.  
  
"It's huge!" Stewart swore he might have seen this tree before from his window, poking over the other trees. It was bigger than the house he lived in, and that house was big. He stood there in amazement for a few extra moments, as his two friends walked over to the trunk of the tree, and soon he followed after. He wondered what they were doing here, when Lilly pull out a small knife from her pouch.  
  
"We are gonna carve our names into the tree since this is now going to be our special spot where we can play and have fun as much as we want." The mere thought of having a special place away from his parents where he could play and have fun freely with his two best friends sounded like heaven to Stewart. Lilly walked up to the trunk first, while Bo held her so she wouldn't accidentally slip she hurt herself as she balanced on the large exposed root. She raised the knife and let it slowly carve out her full name.  
  
**Lillian Valerie-Elizabeth Michaels**  
  
She then handed the knife over to Bo and he helped her down from the trunk and then he repeated her action, but with his own name.  
  
**Beorn Tim Anders**  
  
"Your turn Stewart." Bo offered his hand to his friend who with uneasy feet climbed to the carvings. Bo kept a close hold on Stewart and and then handed him the knife. Stewart then added his own name.  
  
**Stewart Andrew Kersey**

Bo took back the knife and added:  
  
**Friends Forever, 1897**

Bo and Stewart jumped down to the base of the tree, and together with Lilly, they admired their handiwork with pride. It was a promise to remain friends forever. A promise the three friends would happily keep. They sat by the tree for a little afterwards, speaking about random topics from fun fairs to the new store opening up downtown until it landed on future dreams, and that was one Bo spoke passionately about.  
  
"I'm going to open up this nice big house where kids can come and live, from bad homes, or lack of homes, or parents not wanting them. They will be happy there and then people will come to take them to better homes." Bo's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, while he envisioned his future life. He thought of how he'd make sure the kids would be happy there and safe from anyone who would want to cause them harm. He already knew that Stewart would be the first one he would bring into this new home. He could finally save his friend from his father and give him a safe place to sleep.  
  
"Sounds exactly like an orphanage." Stewart pointed out, having been loosely braiding Lilly's hair for the last while. Bo nodded excitedly at his remark. The three friends talked more about this orphanage Bo was going to open up, until they had to part. They all needed sleep that night.   
  
"I'll see you two tomorrow!" Stewart waved with his bandaged hand while smiling from ear to ear despite of his still darkened cheek. Bo and Lilly waved back at him until he was gone from sight, and the two remaining friends walked hand in hand back to their homes. It was always made them both feel a little sick to their stomachs when they had to let their friend return to his terrible house and terrible parents, but knew they were just kids. They couldn't do anything.   
  
Bo and Lilly parted eventually then both snuck back into their own bedrooms.  
  
The three friends all slept happily that night with thought of their special place, and their promise lulling them into hopeful dreams of a happy future together.


End file.
